!100594 Another Lemelson "submarine" software patent

   For those of you who have fans of Jerome Lemelson, here is yet another of
his "submarine" patents that issued, with a continuation/division chain back
to 1954.
   For those of you who hate submarine patents, your fears of lawsuits will
be well fed by the claims to this patent, which are infringed by most of US
industry.

Greg Aharonian
Internet Patent News Service
                              ====================

 
                                   5,351,078
                                 Sep. 27, 1994

         Apparatus and methods for automated observation of objects
 

INVENTOR:      Jerome H. Lemelson, Incline Village, NV
ASSIGNEE:      Lemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation Limited
                 Partnership, Incline Village, NV
DISCL-DATE:    Apr. 16, 2002
DATE FILED:    Sep. 16, 1993
REL-US-DATA:   Continuation of Ser. No. 78,681, Jun. 16, 1993, Pat. No.
                 5,283,641, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 826,617, Jan.
                 28, 1992, Pat. No. 5,249,045, which is a continuation of
                 Ser. No. 426,080, Oct. 24, 1989, Pat. No. 5,119,190, which
                 is a division of Ser. No. 906,969, Sep. 15, 1986, Pat. No.
                 4,984,073, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 723,183, Apr.
                 15, 1985, Pat. No. 4,660,086, which is a continuation of
                 Ser. No. 394,946, Jul. 2, 1982, Pat. No. 4,511,918, which is
                 a division of Ser. No. 13,608, Feb. 16, 1979, Pat. No.
                 4,338,626, which is a division of Ser. No. 778,331, Mar. 16,
                 1977, Pat. No. 4,148,061, which is a continuation of Ser.
                 No. 254,710, May 18, 1972, Pat. No. 4,118,730, which is a
                 continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 267,377, Mar. 11, 1963,
                 abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No.
                 626,211, Dec. 4, 1956, Pat. No. 3,081,379, and a
                 continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 477,467, Dec. 24, 1954,
                 abandoned.
 
ABSTRACT: 
Apparatus and methods are disclosed for automatically inspecting two- or
three-dimensional objects or subjects. A detector and the object are moved
relative to each other. In one form, a detector, such as a camera or
radiation receiver, moves around an object, which is supported to be
rotatable such that the detector may receive electromagnetic energy signals
from the object from a variety of angles. The energy may be directed as a
beam at and reflected from the object, as for visible light, or passed
through the object, as for x-ray radiation. Alternatively, the detector
passively receives energy from the object, as in an infrared detector. The
detector generates analog image signals resulting from the detected
radiation, and an electronic computer process and analyzes the analog signals
and generates digital codes, which may be stored or employed to control a
display.

 I claim:
 
 1. A method for automatically observing objects comprising:
 (a) supporting an object at an observation station, and employing an imaging
  device to control the positioning of said object relative to the
  observation station;
 (b) causing the object to modulate electromagnetic energy signals;
 (c) detecting electromagnetic energy signals modulated by a first portion of
  said object;
 (d) detecting electromagnetic energy signals modulated by a second portion
  of said object;
 (e) computer-processing the detected energy signals and generating and
  storing electronic image signals representing a physical characteristic of
  the object;
 (f) computer-analyzing the stored image signals and generating code signals
  representing further physical characteristics of the object; and
 (g) storing a plurality of command control signals at selectable locations
  of a signal storage device, and reproducing and using selected of said
  stored command control signals to control at least one of the positioning,
  detecting, computer-processing, and computer-analyzing acts.